Diminished anaerobic and aerobic exercise fitness in the hemoglobin E traits

There is no information about the exercise performances of the hemoglobin E trait (Hb EA), which is the second most prevalent hemoglobinopathy found in Southeast Asia and Mediterranean. The purpose of the present study was to compare both anaerobic and aerobic exercise performances between young male subjects with Hb EA and with normal hemoglobin (A2A).

One hundred and twenty-two subjects underwent Hb EA Test screening, which revealed the presence of 17 subjects with Hb EA and 105 subjects with A2A. Thirteen subjects in each of the Hb EA and the normal hemoglobin groups were matched for race, age, height, weight, BMI, %body fat and physical activity profiles. All subjects performed the peak power output and anaerobic capacity tests using the Wingate protocol and the direct VO2max tests using a bicycle ergometer. The results were analyzed with the unpaired t-tests.

The Hb EA subjects had lower (P<0.05, unpaired t-test) relative peak anaerobic power (15.58±0.44 W.kg-1, mean±SEM), relative anaerobic capacity (6.50±0.16 W.kg-1) and maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) (27.39±1.65 mL.kg-1.min-1) when compared to normal hemoglobin group (17.39±0.48 W.kg-1, 7.21±0.18 W.kg-1 and 33.05±1.59 mL.kg-1.min-1, respectively).

The present study suggests that anaerobic exercise and aerobic exercise performances of the Hb EA subjects may be lower than matched normal hemoglobin subjects using the Wingate and the VO2max tests. However, the mechanisms of these results should be further investigated.